Centaurus A

This Hubble Space Telescope image offers a close-up look at a nearby example of galactic cannibalism: a massive black hole hidden at the center of a giant galaxy that is devouring a smaller galaxy in a spectacular collision. Such fireworks were common in the early universe, as galaxies formed and evolved, but are more rare today. A turbulent firestorm of star birth appears along a nearly edge-on dust disk girdling Centaurus A, the nearest active galaxy to Earth. Brilliant clusters of young blue stars lie along the edge of the dark dust lane. Outside the rift the sky is filled with the soft, hazy glow of the galaxy's much older population of red giant and red dwarf stars. For more information, visit: hubblesite.org/news_release/news/1998-14